Days of Christmas
by SonicTeamFreeWill
Summary: 25 Christmas drabbles featuring the Doctor - 10 & 11 - Amy, Rory, River, and several old companions; after all, family and friends make a Christmas merry! Mostly fluff but not all,for the TARDIS Christmas Challenge 2011, rated T for River's flirting
1. The Raggedy Snowman

**AN ~ This is for the TARDIS forum's Christmas Challenge where we are given a prompt for each day of December leading up to Christmas. We didn't have to theme them any particular way but mine are based around the reasonably current progression of the show: that is, Amelia/Amy, Rory, Melody/River, Eleven. Mostly fluff, because it's Christmas but not all. If a certain prompt strikes me as particularly relevant to Ten (Tennant...LOL I hadn't noticed that until now. TENnant?) or Nine I will write it but otherwise, there are plenty of other Christmas collections out there for them I'm sure.**

**Above each chapter/drabble/oneshot, I will give the prompt and the characters. Skip some if you so desire.**

**I reeeeeaaaaaally late, but I actually wrote this one a while ago. At the rate I am going I will catch up...by actual Christmas. I'm up to about Day/Prompt 9.**

Prompt 1: Snowman

Character(s): Amelia Pond

.o.o.o.

The Raggedy Snowman

Amelia Pond loved the snow. She liked to watch it fall, to catch it on her tongue, and to draw angels in the layers of frozen fluff all over her enormous yard. Sometimes her aunty tried to stop her, saying that she would catch a cold or some such, but she was left to her own devices soon enough – and she used those devices to make snowmen. Specifically, as she liked to call him, the Raggedy Snowman.

First, she made a mound of snow about as tall as herself – the Doctor was taller but she couldn't reach any higher, so that would do. She gave him coal eyes and a carrot nose, naturally, but instead of a scarf she dug up an old brown tie from a dusty box in the attic. She tried a few times to tie it correctly, but ended up just pulling it into an awkward, lopsided bow instead. She put a top hat on him, but decided that didn't look right. She tried a bowler hat, a felt-covered riding helmet and a straw hat like Frosty, but none of them looked right. Then she found a bird's nest, empty for the winter, and upturned it on the snowman's head. Perfect.

Content with her creation, Amelia skipped back into the kitchen for one last thing: the Raggedy Snowman had to have something to eat, didn't he?

She placed the bowl of custard at the snowman's feet, and opened a box of fish fingers. Her stomach growled and she realised that, while making her snowman, she had forgotten to have dinner! She asked the Raggedy Snowman if he wouldn't mind sharing, and he said he wouldn't, so Amelia stuck one of the fish fingers into the custard and began to eat.

She watched the sky late into the night, sometimes talking to her snowman and other times just staring. She just made it to Christmas morning before she finally fell asleep at her Raggedy Snowman's feet, waiting for the real thing.


	2. Petrichor

**AN ~ Inspired by Amy & Rory's little appearance in Closing Time :)**

Prompt 2: Christmas shopping

Character(s): Amy, Rory

.o.o.o.

Petrichor

A year had passed since they'd last seen the Doctor. Since they'd watched him die on that beach. Then River Song had told them he wasn't really dead. But they knew he wouldn't come back for them – not this time.

Rory worked in the children's ward of the local hospital, always ready with a story of monsters, aliens and bow ties. Amy's old Raggedy Doctor collection was extremely popular. It made both of them feel good, carrying on the Doctor's legacy in some small way while he was off gallivanting without them.

Sometimes, they even acted out adventures. Rory donned a tweed suit and of course, the bow tie, and he and Amy would ask their enthusiastic audience for ideas about what should happen next. There was no shortage of "and then they kiss!" - followed of course by a mass fit of giggles, including the actors themselves as they remembered the 'stupid face' incident with humour rather than embarrassment and uncertainty.

It was this that Amy and Rory were laughing about when one of the parents who had been in the audience that day had offered Amy a screen test for a perfume advertisement.

"The scent was inspired by something I heard you talking about, actually," the lady had said. "Petrichor."

"The smell of dust after rain," Amy and Rory said at once. "One of the Doctor's passwords."

The lady smiled.

"Yes, and who better to advertise one of the Doctor's passwords than the Doctor's lovely assistant – the girl who waited?"

.o.o.o.

The two of them had come across a stand of Petrichor perfume bottles in the enormous department store in town, which got them talking about that very moment. Suddenly, they were interrupted by a young girl, only about six or seven, who ran up to them with a pad of paper and a pencil with a giraffe shaped eraser.

"Hello Amy Hello Doctor Rory," she said. And then, as if she had been practising what to say for the last twenty minutes: "May I please have an autograph?"

The girl pointed to a massive poster of Amy's perfume advertisement and Amy blushed. But sticking out from a rack of coats halfway across the room was a familiar face – or so she thought. Smoothly recovering from her start, Amy signed the girl's page. Then, she picked up the trial bottle of Petrichor and gave the page a light spray. The girl sniffed it and giggled, then skipped back to her mother who had been waiting a few metres away.

"Rory," Amy breathed once the girl and her mother had disappeared. "Did you see..?"

"Not sure," Rory murmured back. He began to walk over to the rack where the Doctor had been standing, and Amy followed.

"D'you think he's back?" Amy asked, glancing over her shoulder and hoping not too many people had noticed that Rory appeared to be sniffing the fabric. "Do we..I dunno, get him a Christmas present? Does he do Christmas? I mean, it's past Christmas but I don't know when his birthday is..."

"What would you get him?" Rory asked. "Another bow tie?"

"No, it would cramp his 'style'." Amy rolled her eyes, making quotation marks in the air with her fingers. "How 'bout this?"

She raised the bottle of Petrichor and sprayed it in Rory's face.


	3. Decorating

**AN ~ Inspired by me thinking about how freaking BORED River must get. Seriously. 12 000 consecutive life sentences. That is a LONG TIME.**

Prompt 3: Christmas Tree

Characters: River Song/Eleven

.o.o.o.

Decorating

River Song lay on her back on the bed in her cell in Stormcage Containment Facility, staring at the ceiling and tapping her fingertips together to the rhythm of a waltz she could not name. She listened for the sound of her multi-purpose electronic pad buzzing with a message, but none came. She listened to the rain outside and hoped for lightning, but none came.

_Come on, Doctor. Any second now._

It had been months since their last outing. She kept a count on the calender she had pinned on her wall: in Stormcage, they measured your sentence duration by weighing up the sentences on your planet of origin and where you committed the crime. Since both of these were Earth, she served twenty five years for each life sentence – twelve consecutive life sentences making it three hundred thousand years without parole.

Well, without _official_parole, anyway.

"I like what you've done with the place," a familiar voice came out of the shadows, and River sat up to find the Doctor, leaning against the doorway and holding the bars open for her. Gold tinsel wound its way up every second bar, and there was a wreath made of handcuffs hanging off it too.

"It is Christmas," River defended, pretending to be annoyed at his perusal of her attempt at decoration. "At least on my timeline."

"Always with the handcuffs," the Doctor observed as River got up. She just smiled slyly and headed for the TARDIS. The Doctor was always trying to get more out of her. She enjoyed making him wait. That man needed a taste of his own enigmatic medicine.

"So, where to this time, Captain?" she asked, flicking the brakes off because she knew he wouldn't. "The signing of the Declaration of Independence? The Second World War?"

"Nope!"

The Doctor disappeared down one of the TARDIS's many hallways. River strolled around the central panel, knowing that whatever he had gone in search of, it was not down his first choice of hallway. It never was. She still hadn't figured out whether that was his own error, or the TARDIS playing games with her master.

A few seconds later, the Doctor returned and as he was crossing the floor, River put a word in.

"What about Felspoon? I hear it's got mountains that sway in the breeze."

"Nope!" His reply echoed back to her.

"Raxicoricofallipatorius?" she shouted down the hall.

"Nope." This time it was more of a grunt. "Decorating."

Then the Doctor emerged into the control room, half-dragging and half-carrying a Christmas tree taller than he was. He set it down by the door with a huff of exertion and smiled up at her on the raised control platform.

River Song chuckled, and eyed up her dishevelled Doctor.

"Decorating? Is that what they call it these days. I hope you brought champagne."

She winked and the Doctor wasn't sure what to do with that. He flexed his jaw, but no words came, so he picked up the tree and dragged it outside.

Behind him, there was the clink of glasses and another of River Song's sly chuckles. Apparently, she had found the champagne.


	4. Poosh

**AN ~ Inspired by Good Night, one of those mini episodes, in which Amy catches the Doctor returning from a party, which he had just been to with her daughter. Also, much credit goes to the Doctor's face in Good Man Goes to War; "But you and I, we..." and River goes "Yes."**

**I apologise for the looseness of the reference but I don't have holly berries coz I live in Australia so when I think of them I think of pudding and red. I went with red in this one.**

Prompt 4: Holly berries

Characters: River Song/Eleven, Amy, Rory

.o.o.o.

Poosh

She wore a devil-red dress which touched the floor on one side but which barely reached halfway down her thy on the other. Granted, she had a thick faux-fur coat, but she wore it in such a way that she looked like a femme-fatale Santana Claus.

To top it all off, the Doctor presented her with a gorgeous necklace like a waterfall of diamonds, and a corsage of holly berries. Stuck in his button hole there was another tiny branch; two perfect berries and two perfect leaves. Garlands of the stuff hung all around the TARDIS, accompanied by gold and silver tinsel and a number of candy canes.

"Love what you've done with the place," River praised. The Doctor smiled and joined the game she was playing with him, sidling up so their faces were inches apart.

"Are you ready?"

"Always for you, my love," and she grinned and pecked his lips with hers. He was about to kiss her again, properly, when they were interrupted.

"Uh, what's going on here?"

The Doctor winced as if someone had brought a frying pan down on his head. River smiled deviously, enjoying her beloved Doctor's reaction.

"Hello Mum, Hello Dad," she greeted, throwing them off with her knowing, as usual.

"So...where are you off to then?" Rory asked, tried to sound as parental as possible. Which, frankly, was a little difficult when faced with a 900 year old alien and his girlfriend, who was physically older than her father. Not to mention, both were tried and tested war criminals and heroes. Sometimes simultaneously.

"Just a dance," the Doctor replied. River pretended to try not to look devious about it.

"A dance _where?__" _Amy demanded, storming down the stairs towards her daughter and the Doctor, much more successfully intimidating than her partner.

"A Christmas party."

"It's not Christmas."

"It is on Poosh."

"Poosh? Where's Poosh?" Rory interrupted.

"The Delta quadrant of Galaxy 3B." River grinned, knowing this meant almost nothing to either of her parents. "Protected zone," she added. "Since it was stolen."

"You're taking my daugh'er to a STOLEN planet?" Amy demanded.

"Well, it was actually the moon, not the planet, that was stolen," the Doctor pointed out. "Besides, I put it back!"

Amy and Rory looked stunned.

"And no," the Doctor finished. "I did not take it in the first place."

"This time," River murmured, smiling to herself.

"Rory, get dressed," Amy snapped. He looked bewildered.

"Oh, mother is this really necessary?" River rolled her eyes and looked as much like a whiny teenager as she could manage. Her imitation was surprisingly good.

"What?" The Doctor was confused too as Amy all but sprinted for the wardrobe.

"RORY!" the Scot shouted. Rory followed her into the oversized closet and the Doctor realised what was going on. They were coming.

He, the Lonely God, the Oncoming Storm, the Last of the Time Lords...was being chaperoned.


	5. Arthur

**AN ~ Yes, me and River/Eleven and Christmas parties come up again. To be fair, most of the time I wasn't writing this and the last chapter, I was making a costume for a party. Miss Frizzle. For the win.**

Prompt 5: Bells

Character(s): River/Eleven

.o.o.o.

Arthur

River Song lay back on her cushions, screwing the cap on her hallucinogenic lipstick and smiling to herself. It's not every day one gets treated like a queen – especially a prisoner. It's even rarer one gets treated like Cleopatra.

But the royal life of luxury wasn't always agreeable. River Song was a woman of action. Thankfully, as Cleopatra, she had the right to do whatever she wanted and was never questioned by the legions of Romans outside her front door.

River Song liked to ride, as Christmas approached and lavish gifts arrived at the camp intended for Cleopatra, River had her pick of seven beautiful horses. Her favourite was a white stallion she called 'Arthur.' The Doctor had mentioned once that he thought Arthur was a good name for a horse and, looking at this one, River had to agree.

Out on the moors, not far from Stone Henge, River Song received a phone call. There were not too many people who could be calling her in 102 AD. She grinned.

"Hello, sweetie."

"How do you feel about Dorian Grey's Christmas party? He finally got an invite through to me, so I thought maybe this time I'd go. You could be my plus one."

"Is this a costume party?"

"Yes. Ours is Jingle Bells." He shook a tambourine against the speaker and River pulled away from the racket.

"Much as I'd love to, Doctor, I'm expecting someone," River continued. "Stone Henge 102 AD?"

"You'll be back in time."

"It's important."

"I know."

"Half an hour? I'll send you coordinates."

"What do I wear?"

"You're an Earth girl, you know the song. Bells on bobtails and all that."

Arthur snorted as if he knew they were talking about him, and turned his neck around in an attempt to snuffle the device out of River's hands. Suddenly, River got an idea.

"Mind if I bring a friend? I do so love to make an entrance."


	6. Encounter

**AN ~ DONNA! I watched Fires of Pompeii today and I just love Donna so much I had to write about her XD. The Doctor here is Eleven coz it is more consistent with the theme of this collection and I like to think Eleven met her again at some point but I do realise I'm only dreaming. However, Ten works just as well if you swap the tweed for pinstripes and the bowtie for Converse.**

**Plus has anyone else picked up on the fact that God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (aka Comfort and Joy) is like, Doctor Who's official Christmas carol?**

Prompt 6: Christmas carols

Characters: Donna Noble, Eleven (or, if you really want, Ten)

.o.o.o.

Encounter

"Yeah, well, that's a bit useless isn't it?" Donna Noble muttered bitterly as she tucked her phone into her pocket. The telescope she had bought for her Granddad for Christmas was going to arrive late because of some storm or other which had grounded the plane it was supposed to be on. She knew Wilf wouldn't mind getting it late, but she couldn't help but feel the slightest bit screwed over.

As she wandered down the street, she watched the snow fall, which made her feel a bit better – though she wished it wasn't so cold. A small choir was singing beside the Old English sweet shop as people huddled in their heavy jackets and scarfs moved in and out of the store and through the stalls of Christmas wares that lined the streets.

"_Four calling birds, three french hens..."_

Donna took a deep breath: it tasted like snow and candy canes and ginger bread. She loved Christmas. At this time of year, she didn't feel like she was in competition with anyone else. Nobody was judging her. Everyone was full of the Christmas spirit: generous and cheerful and-

"OI! WATCH IT!"

Someone sprinting past her had knocked down by the side of the road. She could feel the muddy, sludgy snow seeping into her clothes. It was in her hair too.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Here..."

The man moved to help her up, but when he locked eyes with her he froze. He was young, but he was wearing tweed. And braces. And a bow tie.

But that hair looked familiar. And the eyes...

"Who the hell are you?" Donna snapped.

"I, uh, have a thing. A very important thing."

He pointed in the direction he had been running, and moved to continue on his way, but Donna grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Do I know you?"

"_God rest ye merry gentlemen..."_

They both looked over Donna's shoulder, to where the choir was singing. That song. She knew that song.

"_Tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy..."_

Fire. Water. A demon. And a man.

"You-" she breathed, examining the stranger who still seemed rather baffled. A woman with wild blond hair jogged up behind him. She had a strange electronic device in her hands, bleeping like it was tracking something.

"Everything okay, sweetie?" she asked. Then she glanced at Donna. "Who's this?"

The man had kept his eyes on Donna, but his hands were busy. He lifted something from his pocket, some kind of wand, and pointed it straight at her. Donna gasped. She had seen that device before. And she had heard its buzzing.

"Donna, I'm sorry."

The voice was full of regret, but muffled. The world began to swim around Donna Noble as she collapsed by the side of the street. Shouts and murmurs and beeping horns rolled into a cacophony, drowning out the chanting.

"_Ti-idings of co-omfort and joy..."_


	7. Holiday

**AN ~ OKAY FINE! I give up, here's Ten. I love him so much * hugs * Inspired by the differences in Donna and the Doctor's ideas of a holiday from Midnight. Not particularly Christmasy, but hey, there is a festival :)**

Prompt 7: holidays

Character(s): Ten, Donna

.o.o.o.

Holiday

Two figures lay on chairs by the poolside, eyes shut, soaking up the sun.

The redhead woman hummed quietly to herself, hands resting against her chest and propping up the reflective sunbathing board as if they had always been meant for the job.

The skinny, two-hearted man in the pinstripe suit fidgeted, tapped his feet together, drummed his fingers on the back of the sunbathing board he was fighting to hold still.

"So this, this is relaxation, is it?" he asked.

"Yup." Donna sighed. "No aliens, no zoomin' about and thank the Lord – no _running!_Which reminds me...I need a foot massage."

Donna trailed off again, lost to her warm, comfortable, sleepy world. The Doctor sat up. He had never been one for sleep in the first place, but sleep on an alien planet in the middle of the day? Never.

He spied an information panel in the corner, and pulled his Converse on so quickly he had to jump and stumble around before he stabilised again.

"I'll be back," he murmured to Donna.

"Don't do anything stupid," she mumbled back as he charged for the information panel.

.o.o.o.

"Greetings, Traveller. Welcome to Cloud Nine resort, Zondaria,"a friendly female voice greeted. "What would you like to do today? For more information, please select a zone."

The Doctor looked down the list he was provided: About this Planet. Local News. Cinema. Garden. Theme Park. Famous Monuments. Nature Trails. Adventure Classes.

He clicked on _About__this__planet,_and the female interface's voice returned to describe Zondaria to him while images and video clips illustrated her words.

"Zondaria is a Level Three inhabited planet, with a very small tribal population living on the Southern Islands, and the Northern Continent dedicated to tourism from other planets. Tourism is Zondaria's main industry and is in general kept separated from the native population, who are subsistence farmers and between them lead a self-contained life.

However, this year, Cloud Nine resort has been offered the chance to take our residents to the Heliosa or Sun Festival which runs for one week; one day of feasts, parades and exhibitions of native arts on each of the Southern Islands."

"Just this year, eh?" the Doctor murmured curiosly, bringing the menu up and selecting 'Local News.' He looked to Donna, who now looked as if she had actually fallen asleep on the sunbed.

"Feel like going to a party?" he shouted across the pool room.

"No!" she shouted back.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the screen where Bella Nimble, the Cloud Nine resort representative on this, the third day of the Sun Festival, was speaking to the camera: her backdrop a bustling marketplace. Before the Doctor could catch a word, though, he was distracted by an odd flash of shadow in the corner of the screen. He whipped the sonic out as quick as a flash to zoom up and investigate, but all of a sudden the market place went up in flames. A loud _whoosh_screamed at him through the information panel's tiny speakers and he jumped back.

"Apologies, Traveller." The interface was back again, having returned the device to the home screen. "We seem to be experiencing technical difficulties. Live coverage of the Sun Festival will be restored as soon as possible. Cloud Nine apologises for any inconvenience."

But the Doctor was already running back to Donna's bedside. He kicked the leg of her sunbed as he swung his trench coat on.

"Donna, get up!" he ordered, eyes sparkling with enthusiasm that perfectly contrasted Ms Noble's utter lack thereof.

"Oh no," Donna moaned. "Not more _running!__"_

"Oh yes."

And the Doctor was off, grinning widely. Now this was his idea of a holiday.


	8. Decisions, Decisions

**AN ~ Well, what do you get the alien who has everything? Ideas are welcome XD I think I'd get him...well, you'll find out!  
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Prompt 8: Gift

Characters: Amy, Rory, Melody/River

.o.o.o.

Decisions, Decisions

Amy and Rory were not very busy on Christmas Day: they had already been to Amy's parents' for dinner the night before, and lunch with Rory's family was set for Boxing Day, so the couple had nothing to do but enjoy each other's company, and watch Christmas specials of various shows as well as reruns of classic (and not-so-classic) Christmas films.

As _Miracle__on__34__th__Street_cut to an ad break, Amy stretched out and rearranged herself.

"What are you, a cat?" Rory queried, trying not to fidget too much despite Amy's elbow digging right into his sternum. Amy grinned up at him with a mischevious glint in her eye.

"Watch it, Mother, Melody is home."

Amy and Rory nearly jumped out of their skin. Amy tumbled off the couch, landing in a rather undignified heap as River Song watched from the doorway, chuckling away to herself.

"River! We didn't know you were coming! Where's the Doctor? Or are you Melody today...I'm a lit'le confused." Amy frowned. "Wait, did I say something I shouldn't have? I need one of those diaries!"

"Oh don't worry, I know who River Song is if that's what you mean. I'm in prison and everything," River explained. "But I'm not here for Christmas. Not yet anyway. Dinner. Watch the cauliflower cheese sauce doesn't burn!"

"What?" Rory voiced his befuddlement.

"I'm here because I have a bit of a predicament."

"What's wrong?" Amy and Rory asked at once, years of parenting to catch up on. River smiled a little and closed her eyes for a moment, simultaneously laughing at them and savouring the moment.

"Nothing bad. Not Universe-bad anyway," River clarified. "I...can't think of a gift for him."

Amy and Rory sighed loudly, almost laughing with relief.

"I mean, the man has everything," Rory elaborated. "Literally, everything."

"What about one of those _Unwrapped_things?" Amy suggested. "You know, like Oxfam Unwrapped and stuff. You buy something...say, a goat...on behalf of the person, and then it's donated to someone who really needs it."

"I can see why he kept you around, Mother," River agreed. "It's all kind of...running and monsters and lasers when you're with him, and you forget sometimes, there are other problems in the world."

"But, should we just do Earth though?" Rory wondered with a frown. "I mean, surely there are other worlds out there with starving people and slaves and stuff. Like what the Doctor told us about the Ood."

"Yes of course," River said, "but I don't suppose you know how to fill out a form in Ood, do you?"

"Uh...no."

"Oxfam i' is then. Heroics starts a' home and all that." Amy clapped her hands once in a motion to action. The others followed her into the computer room, and then she started laughing.

"What?" Rory asked.

"I was just thinking...what d'you think would suit him better: a donkey, or a goat?"

**AN ~ As you have probably noticed, I don't do this very often, I just didn't want to ruin the surprise of it at the top of the page. I know it was a little cheesy but I really do think Oxfam Unwrapped is a great idea. There are plenty of organisations that do programs like this and they really are a great way to give a truly meaningful gift, especially when you can't think of a tangible good that would be useful to the person themselves.**

**For example, I bought my friend a duck. This duck will be given to a family in Mozambique and they can use it for eggs and to produce other ducks, which will then give them more eggs, more ducks, and meat. That then allows them to make a profit, which they can use to improve their diet, education and health. Ok so it's not a miracle duck. If one of them gets TB they're probably still going to die. But still, it's pretty freaking amazing if you ask me.**

**Here is the link (take out the spaces);**

**www . oxfamunwrapped . com . au / ChooseAGift . php**

**Or you can always just google Oxfam Unwrapped, or see what other charities are doing for Christmas :)**

**~Sonic**


	9. Ambushed

**AN ~ No it's not the Doctor and River who get to kiss under the mistletoe! Nor Amy and Rory! I have a surprise for you, so enjoy ;P**

Prompt 9: mistletoe

Characters: Eleven, Amy, Rory, River... and a surprise guest!

.o.o.o.

Ambushed

"There it is!" The Doctor declared, gleefully raising the miscellaneous engine part above his head as he swanned back into the console room.

When suddenly, he stopped.

Amy and River were kissing.

Not full on kissing, but lips had definitely touched. Behind them, the Doctor could see, Rory was only pulling the slightest of faces. With a hop, skip and a jump the Doctor alighted on the control platform.

"What's going on here?" he asked, making a quizzical expression at the laughing humans.

"Don't you know you're supposed to kiss under mistletoe, Sweetie?"

River pointed up at the roof of the TARDIS, and the Doctor followed her finger to where a rather scruffy, odd-looking garland of some kind of plant was tied to one of the rafter beams, dangling a few feet above his head. Of course, as per the custom, the sight of it was soon followed by a kiss.

Three humans burst into vibrant and wholehearted laughter, and The Doctor jumped, realising almost instantly that it was not River who was kissing him. He pulled away from the stranger, and tried not to look too embarrassed and flustered. When he saw the face of his surprise visitor, however, his sour expression turned into a grin.

"Hey old man," the visitor greeted, his rolling American accent standing out in a room full of Brits. "You get younger every time I see you. Still a good kisser though."

The Doctor pulled a face again, trying to deliver something between anger and disgust, but before he could say anything, Amy interrupted.

"Who's your boyfriend?"

The American laughed and put an arm around the Doctor's shoulders, turning him to better face his still chuckling companions.

"This is Captain Jack Harkness," the Doctor introduced.

"Can I call you Jack?" River batter her eyelids.

"You can all me whatever you want." Jack smirked back at her.

"Ooh I like this one." River smiled and eyed him up suggestively and the Doctor scowled.

"Just messin' with you, Lover Boy." Jack patted the Doctor on the shoulder and then shoved him towards River so that he fell on top of her against the console. River pecked her Doctor on the lips and then, in a flurry of limbs, they tried to recover in front of Amy and Rory.

"You're...American." Even Rory wasn't sure where he was going with that.

"You could say that."

"But you're human, though?" Amy queried.

"Yep, human. With...an added feature."

"Used to call him World War Two," the Doctor offered. "But he's much older than that."

The three baffled Brits studied the young American before them, only a few years older than the Doctor physically appeared. The Doctor was staring at Jack too, but not in awe; in irritation. He took a step forward and grabbed the Time Agent's wrist.

"I warned you about these," he growled, taking out his sonic screwdriver to disable the vortex manipulator. Jack sighed and unclasped it, handing it over willingly. River subtly slipped hers off her wrist and into a pocket as the Doctor passed her and threw Jack's manipulator out of the TARDIS doors.

"Now," the Doctor turned on his heels and sprung back up the stairs to them. "I know this great restaurant on a little planet called Klup – Jack, would you like to join us for Christmas dinner?"

"Why else do you think I'm here?" Jack held his hands out, putting himself on show. "Wait, don't answer that. Yes, dinner would be great."


	10. Escape

**AN ~ After much deliberation, I was reliving one of last year's mega family parties and how much I had wanted to get out of there. This, prompt 'party' stemmed from that feeling.  
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Prompt 10: party

Characters: Amy/Rory

.o.o.o.

Escape

"So how did you two meet?" An old lady with a gold dress and too much make-up handed Amy a glass of champagne. The Scot reapplied her smile and told the story again.

"We went to school together. Yeah, he told me he was in a band, but then he had to learn guitar so I wouldn't figure out he was lying. It took us ages to finally get it out though. It was my friend Mels who finally made the penny drop."

"That troublemaker friend of yours? Well at least she was good for something, eh?" The woman laughed, finished off her champagne and moved away. Amy ground her teeth together and tried to resist the temptation to skull the champagne. At this party, nearly everyone she had talked to had found some way or other to insult Mels. While it was offensive enough that they be insulting her best friend, they were also insulting her daughter. Of course they didn't know that, and of course they didn't know just how many times Mels' "trouble making" had saved their lives, but it still annoyed her.

"Amy!"

"Rory, thank God!" She slipped out of her seat and hurried across the room to him, trying not to make it look like his friendly face was oxygen to her. "I swear, if one more person-"

"Wow. The champagne of your dress really brings out the fury in your eyes," Rory said with a false sense of artful knowledge about these things. Amy huffed.

"You're drunk, aren't you?" She rolled her eyes and dragged Rory to the dance floor, glad to finally have an escape from all the strangers criticising her newlywed life.

"No I'm not," Rory protested as they settled into a snowball. "I'm delivering a message...sweetie."

Amy's eyes lit up, and they stopped turning.

"You mean..." Her voice was hushed, but barely restrained. Rory turned his head slightly, as if he were about to look up and over his own shoulder. Amy followed his gaze and saw River Song and the Doctor, arm in arm, looking down on proceedings from the shadows on the second floor.

"Shall we?" Rory bowed and offered his hand to lead Amy away from the dance floor. Grinning, she took it and the two of them fled the scene as quickly as possible, all too willing to abandon the painful party for a Christmas in the TARDIS with their criminal mastermind daughter and her madcap alien boyfriend.


	11. Running Late

**AN ~ I watched 'Day of the Moon' again and remembered River mentioning the prison food, so here we go.**

**But did anyone notice...Amy's nausea that day was later explained by the whole flesh/pregnancy thing but River's wasn't. * conspiracy fingers * I'm curious...**

Prompt 11: Christmas dinner

Characters: River/Eleven

.o.o.o.

Running Late

River paced her cell, rapping her nails against the cover of the TARDIS-blue diary as she waited for him. Five more minutes, and she would be taken to the communal dining area for Christmas dinner. The very thought of Stormcage's pudding and custard made her gag – and they claimed this wasn't an execution facility!

Two minutes left. She could hear the guards coming down the hall. She stuck her hand in her pocket, fingering her hallucinogenic lipstick and trying to come up with a plan. She could always break out on her own and message him...but then, he would be so cross. She had promised him she would behave.

"Merry Christmas, Doctor Song," her guard greeted as he unlocked her door. Not many of Stormcage's prisoners shared the human-based concept of Christmas, so it had become something of an inside joke over River's years of imprisonment.

"Merry Christmas, Stefan." River smiled dryly, trying to conjure some of her usual sass and not be so down on Christmas.

"Waiting for someone?" he asked.

"Aren't we all?"

River sighed and took a long, melancholy moment to put the diary back under her pillow, resigning herself to her Doctor-less, prison-food-ridden fate. There was a jingle in the doorway, and she jumped, turning on her heels to face an empty doorway.

"Stefan?"

She drew her pistol, making sure it was semi-concealed by her side, as she slowly padded into the hall.

"I'm afraid your boy Stefan had to rush off."

River raised the pistol, pointing it at the shadow menacingly for a moment before she heard its familiarity under the air of grandeur and mystery. The Doctor followed his words out of the shadows; hands above his head, smiling, bell on his hat jingling with every step he took.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, smiling at her as if he knew something she didn't. He was glowing. "My wife wasn't easy letting go of me."

River, remembering the true circumstances of the meeting he had just come from, scoffed at his insinuation of her weakness and desperation.

"Liar!" she gasped.

He swaggered up to her and leant forward to whisper in her ear:

"Screamer."

River grinned.


	12. What in the Name of Sanity?

**AN ~ Me, sugar, midnight, and a TARDIS christmas challenge prompt. And probably an overdose of 'Friends'. I think I've said enough.**

Prompt 12: turkey  
>Characters: Eleven, Amy, Rory, Rory's Mum<span>

.o.o.o.

What in the Name of Sanity..?

"So...who did you say he was again?"

Amy and Rory tried not to laugh or make a snide comment at Rory's mother's question as the three of them watched the Doctor – from the other side of the counter of course – flail madly around the kitchen.

"He's from work," Rory offered. "Bit of a lunatic, but someone's gotta keep the idiot alive."

"I heard that!" the Doctor yelled.

"So, he thinks he's a Doctor?"

This time, the Doctor's objection was drowned out by the infuriated screeching of the large feathered creature he had brought with him: apparently, he had made the mistake of telling the turkey its purpose; a fate to which it had not taken to kindly.

"Like I said, he's...special," Rory repeated. Amy snorted.

"Yeah he's 'special' alright."

"He brought a _live_ turkey to his friend's family dinner?" Mrs Williams was still thoroughly confused, especially since Amy and Rory couldn't exactly tell her that the strange and as yet unnamed Doctor was more easily found in the Second World War than at the butcher's or the frozen food isle of his local supermarket.

"He, uh, has a poultry farm," Amy explained, trying to keep a straight face. The battle in the kitchen was coming to an end, and as things quietened down, she knew the Doctor could hear every word they said. "In his backyard. The therapist says the responsibility should make him less erratic."

"Oh, the dear." Rory's mother put her hands over her heart as the Doctor emerged from the kitchen, quickly closing the door behind himself and trying to do away with the wooden spoon he was inexplicably brandishing.

"Is somebody taking cheap shots at me?" He studied Amy and Rory carefully. They tried to stay composed, but it didn't help that the Doctor was defending his sanity in a tweed suit, bow tie, Santa hat and bell-toting elf shoes – all of which were now dishevelled and speckled with turkey feathers.

"No of _course_ not, Doctor," Rory's mother crooned, patting down his tufted fringe and straightening his lapels. "You just make yourself nice and comfortable and relaxed while I pop out and get some sausages for tea."


	13. Prague

**AN ~ This one was friggin hard but I'm feeling a bit '24-hour-expert'y after Mum pointed out Wenceslas (as in Good King) Square in Prague the other day.**

**On something I was watching, guys, I've never been to Prague.**

**So anyhow I wanted a Christmas in Prague and the idea seemed to write itself. If I may say so myself, Eleven wrote himself rather well for me this morning :)**

**And oh yeah, polevka is soup, just missing some accents. Sorry to all my Czech readers (coz I have so many...)**

Prompt 13: advent

Characters: Amy/Rory, Eleven

.o.o.o.

Prague

The doorbell rung and Amy almost immediately swung it open to a smiling Doctor.

"Yes, I'm late," he said, wiping his feet on the mat as he let himself in. "Sorry, I was aiming for Christmas."

Tiny clumps of snow tumbled onto the ground and Amy and Rory glanced at each other, puzzled. It was the middle of autumn.

"Well you made it for our anniversary," Rory offered, in an 'I-wish-one-of-these-times-you-would-get-the-hint' voice. He cleared his throat loudly and gestured to his Centurion costume.

"Oh, are you putting on a play? Seems a bit weird to have a Christmas play in the middle of autumn but you know, one of these days the stores are going to sell blow-up reindeer in June so I guess I can hardly-"

"Doctor." Amy cleared her throat and tried to subtly stand up the photo frames she and Rory had knocked off the little table by the door. "It's our _wedding__anniversary.__"_

"Oh, congratulations!" The Doctor clapped his hands together and then opened his arms for a hug, and suddenly realised why the Ponds were being so awkward. He lowered his arms, and his hands flexed uncertainly. "I guess I'm sort of...interrupting something...a bit..."

"A bit, yeah," Amy and Rory replied at once.

"Sorry. Would it help if I told you I was going to take you to Prague?"

.o.o.o.

About ten minutes later (on their timelines anyway) Amy, Rory and the Doctor emerged from the TARDIS to the sight of a bustling marketplace and a light snowfall, and the sound of a choir 100 strong singing a beautiful, haunting melody.

"Welcome to Wenceslas Square, Prague 1877," the Doctor announced. Amy and Rory looked each other over, now knowing why they had needed the wardrobe on the trip over, and hating the Doctor for his unwillingness to change his outfit. He had put on an overcoat, but that was all.

"What's with all the candles? And why are they purple? Should there be purple candles in 1877? Have you brought us alien-hunting _again?__"_

"This is the Advent Choral Festival and it is the first day of Advent. Every Sunday of Advent you light a candle – three purple or blue ones and one pink. Yes they had purple candles and no I have not brought you 'alien hunting,' Ponds. Since when have I ever _intentionally_brought you alien hunting?"

"Prisoner Zero," Amy replied instantly.

"That was hardly what I'd call 'intentional'," the Doctor protested.

"The Byzantium," she continued.

"The Pandorica," Rory added. Amy was still going.

"That talking TARDIS-eating asteroid thingy, the Silence...the Silence...and oh yeah! The Silence."

"All right, all right!" the Doctor waved his arms and his companions fell silent, still grinning at their victory. "Now, I'm getting cold. Who's up for polevka?"

Amy and Rory were reluctant to answer that. They had no idea what polevka was. But the Doctor gave them no choice in the matter, already disappearing into the crowd of the marketplace. Amy and Rory sprinted after him, shouting.


	14. Sanctuary

**AN ~ This one is a little depressing, but what is the Doctor (post Time War at least) without sentimentality? My brain went candles – churches – reflection. I am not religious, and I don't mean this to imply any particular opinion about the topic. As with any controversial area I happen to mention, I am happy to discuss with you if you PM me.**

**Anyway, I hope you like it**

Prompt 14: candles

Characters: The Doctor (well Eleven, but that's not vital to know)

.o.o.o.

Sanctuary

So this is what Christmas feels like alone.

The Doctor had been by himself before, but on Christmas he had always had someone or something to keep him occupied. It was nearly midnight and he hadn't seen anyone – not even River who, after one of their very few more serious fights, had made him swear not to seek out her company for his next 24 hours. He wasn't sure how she could keep track of his timeline to that level of accuracy, but he had tried it before and failed, so he was left alone to wander the streets of London, 2012.

He studied his surroundings. At this time of night, the streets were deserted and the city looked almost like its 17th Century self. Especially this area, where the number of older buildings overwhelmed the more modern ones with a sense of Victorianism. If it weren't for the Millenium Eye, the Doctor may have even had to stick his finger in the air or pick up a newspaper to check what era they were in.

That is, if he had cared at this point.

He had brought it on himself, he supposed: let them all think I'm dead, step back into the shadows. Looked like he'd stepped a little too far.

It was in the midst of this train of thought that he walked past an open church. He could feel the warmth of its many candles from the street. Without really knowing why, the Doctor turned around and stepped inside.

Rows and rows of candles lined the walls: people being thankful or mourning or celebrating the holiday with their dearly departed. The Doctor picked up a tiny candle and held it up to eye level, studying its flame with an odd, nostalgic, mournful kind of curiosity.

Through the flickering orange, he could read the names on the wall of the church. Struck by the sheer number of them, he put the candle down and looked to the top of the panel.

_The Battle of Canary Wharf._

His every heartbeat seemed to echo in the dead space. His eyes scanned the columns of names – he hadn't realised there had been so many. Then he reached T.

_Tyler, Rose._

It was a shot out of the blue, and it made him want to shrivel up and die. He was suddenly and intensely reminded of the poison of the Judas tree – coincidentally, a substance intrinsically involved the last time he had suffered such a strong wave of nostalgia. 'Nostalgia' here meaning both a sense of how loved he was, and how dangerous he was.

Amy and Rory were gone, and he had meant every word when he had told Amy why. Rose Tyler was proof of that. Jackie, too. And Mickey. And Harriet Jones, Sarah-Jane Smith, Lorna Bucket...not to mention Martha, Donna, River? He left an ocean of destruction in his wake, and he did it over and over, and he knew he would probably never be able to bring himself to stop. Sure, Amy and Rory were safe, at least for now, but River was still connected, already en route to her final destination, and after her...

The Doctor sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Maybe he needed some of those candles. It seemed to make humans feel better and between this life and his last, he had come to fall deeply in love with the race, their planet, their customs. Earth was a second home to him, and he wouldn't have it any other way...but for now, there were the casualties.

Alone in a 21st Century church in London on Christmas, a strange and nameless man lit a candle and cried.


	15. River's First Christmas

**AN ~ I was feeling a little soppy when I wrote this one. I think River got a bit ripped off in the childhood department so this is a little kiddy moment for her.**

Prompt 15: Saint Nicholas

Characters: River, Rory, Amy, Eleven

.o.o.o.

River's First Christmas

The Doctor snapped his diary shut, having decided where this River was: it was her third time out of Stormcage (with him, at least), and it was Christmas.

"I love a good Christmas, me," he offered, spinning a twirligig and tapping a gizmet as he danced around the TARDIS console. "With the gifts and the songs and those cardboard cracker things..."

River didn't even attempt to conceal her participation in driving the TARDIS. Her hand lingered on the switch, eyes staring straight ahead. But it lasted only a moment before she cleared her throat and flicked the switch.

The Doctor, of course, caught this wistful pause. He had in a way been expecting it – after all, the young River Song, or Melody Pond, was raised by aliens to be a psychopath: he doubted Madam Kovarian supported fanciful notions such as Santa Claus. But, as the Doctor's enthusiasm for bunk beds demonstrated, a playful heart was never too old.

After a quick phone call and an equally quick (though more surprisingly so) search through the wardrobe, the Doctor had the young, blindfolded River Song by the shoulders and was guiding her to her parents' living room. It was obvious, even to the sight-deprived River, that her parents had gone all out with the festival this year: the smells of turkey and pudding and candy canes mingled with the sound of an aged collection of Christmas classics. Fairy lights framed the door and all the windows and there was even, much to the Doctor's delight, a life-size blow-up reindeer on the porch. He put River's hand on its nose and she squeaked at the unexpected sensation.

When they finally reached the living room, the Doctor pulled the blindfold away with a flourish, revealing the grand tree and the very, very excited Amy Pond.

"Oh, wow..." River trailed off, stunned, as she approached the tree. There was an undeniably large collection of primary-school artwork hanging off that tree.

"When Mels disappeared, and they couldn't track down her parents, Rory and I cleared out her room," Amy explained. "We decided to keep some of it."

"Mother!" River gasped, feeling very daughterly all of a sudden but struggling to express it. "This is wonderful! I feel like I should ask you to teach me how to ride a bike."

She slowly turned, her eyes tracing the brightly wrapped gifts, the decorations, the plastic angel singing "God Rest Ye Merry"...she kept turning until she reached the doorway, where a chubby, bearded man in bright red was holding his arms out wide.

"Ho ho ho!" he boomed – or tried to boom. River snorted with laughter.

"Dad?"

'Santa' came into the lounge room, toting a bulging sack which he dragged with him to the couch. River sat in the middle, enjoying her opportunity to be treated like a child for once, and Amy sat at her other side, arms around her daughter's shoulders as if to try and make up their lost years, or at least apologise for them. Rory managed to stay in character for the most part as he handed out the gifts, but everyone enjoyed his lapses in acting just as much.

The Doctor took a moment, brand new fez atop his head and wine-coloured lipstick lips on his cheek, to admire the young and glowing River Song's first Christmas. As first Christmases go, he decided, this was definitely one for the books.


	16. 13 Bannerman Road

**AN ~ MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL! Well, it's Christmas in Australia at least, and I'm pretty sure I have until midday tomorrow until it's no longer Christmas anywhere in the world. Since I'm only up to 16, I think it will be my aim to have this challenge finished by then.**

**Anyway, here is another blast from the Doctor's past :) Though not quite as mysterious.**

Prompt 16: hot chocolate

Characters: The Doctor (Eleven again, because that's where he's up to in his life), and an old friend

.o.o.o.

13 Bannerman Road

This time he had the right house. He was sure.

Well, he wasn't _sure_ exactly but he'd already checked six houses on the street so the odds were increasingly better that this would be the right one.

He knocked, and suddenly felt all clunkish and young and stupid. The last time they had met there had been aliens and running and even an explosion, but this time it was just going to be him and her and hot chocolate.

Oh yeah, and Luke.

The Doctor shifted the box, wrapped in TARDIS-blue, from one arm to the other and then straightened his bow tie one last time before a familiar face pulled open the door.

Sarah Jane Smith.

He took a moment to take her in, just as she took a moment to take him in.

"Doctor..." she breathed, as if having forgotten how he now looked.

"Sarah." His voice was only a little more solid, and he smiled at her. "I- uh, I brought hot chocolate, and...uh...jelly babies."

He held out a bag of them, and Sarah Jane covered her mouth with both hands.

"Oh my God!" she squeaked after a moment of shock. She took a jelly baby, popped it into her mouth and then danced back into the house as if the sweet were the most wonderful thing in the universe. The Doctor smiled and followed her inside; though her path was erratic, she eventually led him to the kitchen.

The Doctor made three cups of steaming hot chocolate as his former companion chattered merrily away about the latest adventures of herself, Luke, Clyde and Rani.

"Oh and Doctor did I tell you about the Slitheen?" Sarah immediately launched off on a new tangent and the Doctor chewed a jelly baby as he listened. He missed her – he truly did miss her. If nothing else (and there were plenty of reasons) she was a reminder of the times when he didn't destroy every single thing he touched. If there was anyone in the universe he hadn't managed to screw up, it was her.

"Wow, Mum, where's the fire?" An exhausted-looking fourteen year old boy dragged himself into the kitchen, barely managing to keep his eyes open. "Oh," he grunted when he saw the Doctor. "Howzit goin?"

"Good, good, everything's..." the Doctor glanced at Sarah Jane and smiled; he didn't really feel as 'fine' as he advertised. But Luke was a scientifically engineered boy genius; he was not extremely well trained in human behaviour. Or Time Lord behaviour, as it turned out. This being the case, it was easy to cover up his little stumble by presenting Luke with the passage under his arm. Luke's eyes widened and he tore the paper off enthusiastically.

Sarah's jaw dropped.

"Wow! Thanks Doctor!" Luke exclaimed. He pulled the Sonic Pen free of the wrapping paper and waved it over his head. The light bulb above their head shattered, and the three of them chuckled hesitantly, unsure whether they should be laughing or worried.

Luke settle on laughing, and headed back upstairs to play with his new toy.

"Don't break anything!" Sarah shouted after him, before turning to the Doctor with her best parental glare. "He does not need that."

"It's more powerful than your lipstick. Lasts longer too. Sonic tech has improved since you were...you know, around."

"Oi, is that an insult?" 

"You could almost be Donna." The Doctor smiled and handed Sarah-Jane her hot chocolate.

"Yeah, I liked her," Sarah said. "Kept you in line, didn't she?"

The Doctor chuckled. "Yeah, Amy's not bad at that either."

"Oh, Amy! She's the married one, right? Tell me about them."

And so the Doctor began to regale stories of himself, Amy and Rory to his old companion over hot chocolate, on a slow and relaxing Christmas morning...

And then the power went out.

Sarah-Jane glared at the Doctor, and he grinned back.

"Sorry."


	17. Commissioned

**AN ~ another late night one, just a funny little scene I thought up by looking at a crystal swan and thinking about crappy cracker jokes XD It will be a sad day when they actually put something funny in one of those things.**

Prompt 17: ice

Characters: Eleven, Rory, Amy

.o.o.o.

Commissioned

"So, run this by me again?" Rory asked, stared in bewilderment at the three blocks of ice, each the size of a small refrigerator, which sat innocently behind the Doctor.

"I – well, the psychic paper, silly thing – got us commissioned to make ice sculptures for Prince Ch'nechzka."

"Who's Prince Check- Ch'neck-" Rory stumbled over the name, but Amy cut him off anyway.

"Tell him to find someone else. I'm supposed to be on Alyzonia right now, hiking or drinking something strange. 'Christmas on another planet.' That's what you promised, and considering Venice and Apalapucia, I'm holding you to this one, so Prince Chin-necker can just find someone else to make his stupid sculptures!"

"Ah, yes, well...I'm afraid when I said 'commissioned' I meant – rather – imprisoned."

"_What?" _Amy and Rory jumped. The Doctor scratched his head, jaw flapping in an attempt to explain himself.

"I- well, it wasn't my fault. You see-"

"Basically, no Alyzonia 'til we carve the damned ice," Amy summarised.

"Basically...yeah," the Doctor conceded, unable to fault her.

"Right, well, what does he want?" Rory asked.

"Again, funny story..." The Doctor glanced uncertainly at Amy, who covered her eyes in sheer embarrassment.

"It was a very nice dress," the Doctor pointed out, trying to salvage the moment. A confused Rory, now prepping himself to be an angry Rory, glanced between the two of them, waiting for an explanation.

"Hey, does anyone else feel that?" Amy wondered, in a tone that told everyone this was on an unrelated note.

"What?" Rory asked. Amy lifted up an ankle to demonstrate, and the slosh her foot caused made all three faces fall.

Simultaneously, they turned their attention to the formerly fridge-sized blocks of ice, which now resembled tissue boxes floating in an ankle-deep ocean.

Which was dripping into the TARDIS controls.

"NO!" Just as sparks begin to flash, the Doctor dove for the console and turned everything off with one switch. The three occupants of the now black flooded time machine looked at each other. In a voice muffled to give the effect of a two-way radio, Rory voiced their universal thought:

"Alyzonia, we have a problem."


	18. Crazy Talk

**AN ~ because I just love Donna's granddad :) this one is sort of a part 2 to chapter six: Encounter. What do I mean, sort of. It's pretty much directly after!**

**Anyway - **

Prompt 18: Star

Characters: Wilfred Mott (aka Granddad or Wilf), Sylvia Noble, Donna Noble

.o.o.o.

Crazy Talk

"She's sleeping," the nurse informed Wilf and Sylvia as they waited anxiously to be allowed to see Donna. "She has a mild concussion so we'd like to keep her overnight just in case, but at the moment it seems she's just a bit muddled. She's talking about a strange man...she says she doesn't recognise him, but sometimes she starts to talk as if she knows him! We think it has something to do with the man who knocked her over."

"Well where is he?" Sylvia snapped. "Why don't you ask him?"

"He didn't stick around. There were just two witnesses who said they saw someone with her. They say he had this strange wand...I think it was for the cameras, you know, he probably just bumped into her. That is, if he was even there. Oh well, never mind. I'll let you get on with things, since visiting hours are nearly over."

The nurse left, and Wilf jogged over to the window. He looked out at the stars and remembered a promise he had made. It felt like so long ago...but it was only last year.

"D'you think it could be him, Syl?" Wilf asked.

"I don't care about that stupid man – especially if it was him! Look what he did to my girl, leaving her on the street like that!"

Sylvia huffed and threw herself into the chair at Donna's bedside.

"The emergency call was anonymous," Wilf pointed out. "It could be him, Syl. Back for Christmas, hey?"

"Why would he come back?"

"It was probably just chance. He's in London a lot. Maybe he just wanted the company."

"He knows he can't see her again. He's a dangerous idiot but he's not going to kill her on purpose."

Wilf was already at the window, tapping on it as if the person he was trying to talk to was only just on the other side. When he realised he had tapped four times at once, he took his hand away. He remembered the radiation chamber and the strange healing magic the Doctor had done.

"Doctor!" he called. "You don't have to be alone on Christmas! Donna can't see you anyway – please come in!"

"Oh Dad, stop it," Sylvia snapped. "You're talking to nothing but stars."

Wilf stepped away from the window and returned to Donna's bedside, still hoping.

Careful to stay out of the hospital window's frame of reference, the Doctor put his hands in his pockets and walked back to the TARDIS.


	19. Stolen

**AN ~ a bit of a depressing one too, actually. Set after A Good Man Goes to War, as River follows through on the order to take Amy and Rory home, and her very distraught parents find things hard to accept. I apologise for the looseness of the reference as a manger is generally for stable use, not for babies to sleep in, but I went with the sleeping babies.**

Prompt 19: manger

Characters: River, Amy Rory

.o.o.o.

Stolen

"That man is such a hypocrite," River muttered, smiling to herself as she fished the vortex manipulator out of her pocket. She looked up at Amy and Rory, who were still staring at her, flabbergasted, and asked: "D'you still live in Leadworth?"

"You...Melody..." Rory mumbled, pointing at River and then at the Doctor's empty crib. "How? Why?"

"I'm in prison," River shrugged, fiddling with the coordinates on the manipulator. "For something very, very bad."

"So you use a false name to stop the prison uncovering your escapades?" Rory guessed.

"Don't be ridiculous!" River laughed. "I use a false name so the prison doesn't get totally humiliated by the number of times they've let me escape!"

Amy, who had taken a while to recover her speech functions, scrunched the prayer leaf in her hand and risked a shaky and shy demand for attention.

"You knew? All this time, then, you knew...and you never said..."

"What?" Rory turned to face his wife, confused.

"We've met before." She was still speaking to River. "The Byzantium? The Pandorica? Why didn't you tell us then?"

"Amy- Mother- please, calm down," River said. "I'm sorry I couldn't say anything but if I had, I would have had to explain what happened here today-"

"But-" Amy tried to cut in, but River ploughed on through.

"_And _I would have had to make sure you let it happen."

"But-" This time, Amy fell short due to lack of words, and River just picked up the slack.

"The Doctor told me to take you home, so let's go before the Jadoon come back to clear this place up."

River held out both arms, beckoning her shellshocked parents to take one. Amy backed away.

"Wait," she said. "Can we take the crib? It would be so sad to lose it and I mean, little Melody will still need a place to sleep when the Doctor brings her ba...ack."

Amy saw Rory's expression and trailed off.

"Amy," he said gravely, holding her tenderly against him. "She would have had to make sure we let this happen, remember?"

"No, Rory, this can't-" Amy choked on the words.

"Otherwise River wouldn't be River," Rory continued.

"But she would have spent her life with _us," _Amy objected, the tears she hadn't cried over losing Melody originally finally breaking out. "With her real parents! That would be better than the life she's had now."

Amy broke free of Rory's hug and sprinted the few strides to River, grabbing her by the shoulders as she tried to escape the questions being forced on her. Rory tried to separate them until at last River surrendered, and looked into her mother's eyes.

"Wouldn't that be better, River?" Amy whispered. "Wouldn't you rather be Melody? Wouldn't you like to escape all that pain - the space suit, the orphanage, Madam Kovarian? Don't you want a home and parents and school and friends and birthdays and Christmases?"

Amy paused to take a few cleansing breaths, her cheeks shimmering with tears. River smiled at her determined mother, and her brave father.

"I love you," she whispered.

Then she punched a final button on the vortex manipulator, and Demon's Run was as empty as the 909 year old crib that materialised in Amy and Rory's spare bedroom in Leadworth, England, Earth, the Solar System, 2011.


	20. Fresh Start

**AN ~ how is/was everyone's Christmases? Mine's good. I'm enjoying doing nothing except reading, finishing this challenge and listening to my sister...although, I could skip on the sister :) This one is still sentimental but on the fluffy side rather than the depressing one, the prompt being 'joy' and all**

Prompt 20: joy

Characters: The Doctor; specifically very young Eleven (as in, five minutes into Eleventh Hour)

.o.o.o.

Fresh Start

He had just left a curious and strange Amelia Pond and her curious and strange house.

He had just repaired a crumbling, burning Time Machine.

He still felt revolting, because all that radiation was breaking down his bones and organs as fast as he was regenerating them.

He also felt revolting because he was alone. It hadn't been one whole day – not even a night – since he had been positively surrounded by friends. He could hardly have fit any more people on the TARDIS console had he tried. But he had left them all, and his emotions had torn him down just as much as the radiation.

His old life had been an idiot, for want of a kinder term. Yes, he had reason. He had been born in the midst of destruction and agony and Rose Tyler. He had had his hearts broken – shattered. So many had died for him that life, and meanwhile the Time War was still as raw and ferocious as ever in the Doctor's mind; as bloody and destructive as the first time he had set eyes on it. And then he had finally ended it. He had brought the destruction of everything he held dear. Brought it on himself.

But he had let his pain cost him too much. He had let it destroy him.

Not this time. This time, the Doctor was alone, and dying and being born at the same time, but he was determined to start with a fresher mind. A young and stupid mind. A mind that enjoyed fish fingers and custard, and bunk beds, and apples with smiley faces. He wanted to take the cheerful parts of that old self and rebuild a new one from the ashes.

So he walked into a newsagent in Chiswick and bought himself a diary. This, he decided, was going to be a journal of all the things that gave him joy, so that when his heart was aching and he needed shelter from the life of the Last of the Time Lords, he could look at its pages and remember why he kept going.

And he was going to start with the best parts of his old lives: his companions. They, after all, were what brought him the most joy. They may be stupid, or too helplessly feminine for their own good, or Chav, or sarcastic, or unable to keep their noses out of complicated timey-wimey alien business, but they were his friends, and they all loved him, and sometimes he had forgotten that in his old life.

He had decided to emboss on the cover of a book a quote he should like to think he would never forget:

"You know, you act like such a lonely man. But look at you. You've got the biggest family on Earth."

He had survived, despite everything, and he continued to do so. No matter what he thought about it, in any of his lives, he would always spend his regenerations saving people. Was it survivor's guilt? The drive of a nine-hundred-year old to fill his life with worth? Fun? Accidents? Taking pity on a lesser race? To be honest, he was more than a little ashamed of the latter. The humans he had met were some of the best of the best, and he was the luckiest Time Lord alive.

And it felt nice to be able to think that without the world's biggest meat-carver being twisted in each of his hearts simultaneously. Now there was nothing more than a razor blade of pain. It wasn't the best, but it was a start.

A new start. That's all he wanted.

The Doctor smiled to himself and flipped Amelia Ponds apple into the air. It was time to be getting back to that little girl.


	21. S'mores

**AN~ I will finish these, and I will not use two prompts for one chapter! I've only got four to go after this so hopefully I should manage it. Short, cute, fluffy – that's this one in a nutshell**

Prompt 21: log fire

Characters: Eleven, Amy, Rory

.o.o.o.

S'mores

"Come along, Ponds!" The Doctor waved his arms to hurry them up, and Amy huffed.

"Well, which one is it – Isla Plachia, or the Ice Desert of Saade?"

"Does it matter? Christmas! Surprises! Miracles! I have a wardrobe! In, in, in!"

He was excited. He had a lot to show his friends and though they had seen him the night before, he had not seen them for several months. It had been a while since he had played tour guide, and he rather missed it.

But he was sure there were other, less selfish reasons for bringing the Ponds out today.

Technically it was Boxing Day but none of them really cared; at least it was still in the season. To be honest, he hadn't been aiming for Christmas this time – his Christmas visit was on Christmas – but he guessed the TARDIS had just picked up on his festive mood.

"Doctor!"

Apparently, it was not the first time Rory had called his name.

"Hm?"

"If this is where you think you parked, you might want to start looking for whoever spiked your polevka," Rory pointed out.

"What?"

The Doctor spun around, and saw Amy standing in a conveniently TARDIS-shaped patch of crushed grass, her arms out as if demonstrating something.

"Say nothing," the Doctor muttered, inspecting the square. "I have really got to fix the coordinate lock on that thing."

"Don't worry, Doctor!" Amy said. "You can stay with us! We'll eat leftover roast and toast s'mores on a real fire and sing carols – it'll be fun! We can show you our Christmas."

"What's a s'more?" he wondered. Amy grinned and took the Doctor's arm, leading him back towards the house.

"S'mores are cool," she said. The Doctor was content with that.


	22. Family

**AN ~ this one is longer than I intended it to be and it is now 9:40 Boxing Day morning for me which means that I don't have long left until it is no longer Chrismas ANYWHERE in the world! I have three prompts left...let's see if I can do it!  
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**This one is part 2 to chapter 16 '13 Bannerman Road' and it refers to chapter 20 'Fresh Start'; neither of those are vital to read but it will probably enhance your reading experience.**

Prompt 22: family

Characters: Eleven, Sarah-Jane Smith

.o.o.o.

Family

The Doctor soon had the power back up, and he assured Sarah Jane that it would probably happen many more times, but that the circuits were not being damaged and Luke now knew how to fix it. Sarah-Jane rolled her eyes.

"So, all those others – you know, the others who helped us with Davros; Donna, Rose, Mickey, Martha, Jack, that other Doctor...what happened to them?"

The Doctor swallowed hard.

"Mickey and Martha joined UNIT. Ended up getting married."

"Well, that's nice...isn't it?"

"Yes. Yeah, it is." He smiled, but it couldn't last. "I took Rose and her family back to the other universe. I had to leave them there. It was just...how things needed to be."

"Oh, Doctor." Sarah-Jane put a hand over his and he looked up at her, feeling pretty pathetic.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I haven't talked about this to anyone. I left the Metacrisis with her, though. He was me, almost; everything I was up until that point. All my memories, most of my mind...but he could spend his life with her."

He snorted at the juxtaposition: he had always said that he didn't want to become domestic. He didn't want to live in a house or any of that. But that life of his had fallen for Rose, there was no denying it. He had to grant the old him one thing though – a twenty-year-old human shopkeeper was probably a much simpler romance than a time-travelling, smart-talking, semi-Time-Lord assassin.

He cleared his throat.

"The impact of the metacrisis on Donna's mind was too much, so I had to take it all away from her." He shook his head. "To be honest, I think that was one of the cruellest things I've done to any individual person in my entire existence, Sarah."

"Everything?" Sarah-Jane covered her mouth, scarcely able to believe that Donna, who had seemed so confident and victorious and loving the adventure of it all, had had the whole thing torn out from under her.

"She's all right, though," the Doctor continued, smiling a little. "I ran into her by accident but she didn't remember me, so everything is fine. As for Jack – I haven't seen him in a while, actually. I et him up with a pilot I met once; Allonso. I wonder how that worked out."

Sarah-Jane, while still struggling with Donna's loss, was happy the conversation had taken a lighter tone.

"And Amy and Rory? They're the married ones, right?"

"They're staying at Rory's mother's for Christmas."

"Oh, that's lovely – and you aren't there because..?"

The Doctor laughed.

"It's too domestic. Plus I don't like Rory's mother."

"Really?" Sarah-Jane raised an eyebrow. The Doctor wasn't finished.

"Plus she thinks I belong in an insane asylum. Plus I'd have to get through a really long, boring party – most likely pretending I _do_ belong in an asylum. Plus she keeps trying to fix my hair. Plus she keeps insulting River."

"Oooh and who's River?"

"She's...everything."

"That's sweet!"

"What? Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that...I mean she is...I mean I do..."

Sarah-Jane snorted with laughter as the power went out and came back on again. The Doctor soon found himself laughing along beside his old companion. When they recovered, the Doctor tried to give Sarah-Jane a summary of River Song.

"She's an archaeologist who died to save my life, helped me reboot the universe, watched me die, killed me, lived in a space suit, got shot at by her mother, then went to Amy and Rory's school, then tried to kill Hitler, tried again to kill me, regenerated and married me. That's what I've got so far in my order of things. Hers probably makes a little more sense, but-"

Sarah-Jane burst out laughing again.

"That is some love story," she finally managed. "Oh, Doctor, I hope you never forget -"

The Doctor knew what she was going to say next, so he reached into a pocket on the inside of his jacket and pulled out the diary he had bought in Chiswick on the first day of this life, with Sarah-Jane's quote engraved on the front.

"_You know, you act like such a lonely man. But look at you. You've got the biggest family on Earth."_

Then he pulled out a handkerchief, because Sarah-Jane Smith had started to cry.


	23. The True Miracle

**AN ~ short, and a little bit cheesy *cough * but hopefully in a good way. Again, this is not meant to cause offence to anyone, but when I say The True Miracle I don't mean Jesus. It's a little cheesier than that. Just a head's up :)**

Prompt 23: miracle

Characters: the Doctor

.o.o.o.

The True Miracle

After a fight with River, she had stolen the TARDIS, leaving the Doctor alone on the streets of Cardiff on Christmas Eve, 1999. This year, everyone seemed more preoccupied by the dawn of the new millennium, but as the Doctor wandered the streets pretending he had somewhere to go, he could see that Christmas was not forgotten.

There were people out shopping, Santas on street corners, and plenty of carollers and fairy lights, but that was not what he meant.

There were people going into church and coming out of church, nativity scenes, and a huge Star of Bethlehem hanging above an intersection. That's not what he meant either.

No, the Doctor found the strangest wonder, a wonder which gave him hope and peace, in the way humans treated each other at Christmas. More drivers were inclined to give pedestrians right of way. More cranky or isolated people were inclined to accept company and well wishes. More rivals were inclined to give each other mercy. Even the greatest battles in human history had paused for that day.

And all of this was embodied by what the Doctor considered the true spirit of Christmas: the act of giving. Whether that be Mother Earth and the Powers that Be giving them longer days, the Judeo-Christian God giving them his son, friends and family giving to their dear ones, or certain human beings giving money, belongings and time to complete strangers, the Doctor couldn't help but appreciate the human race at Christmas time. It transformed a young, learning race into one which so many worlds wished they could be. It gave people hope, and second chances, and opportunities. Christmas itself, the Doctor believed, was the miracle the human race was really celebrating.


	24. Klup

**AN ~ only 40 minutes left until the official end of Christmas...nearly there. Can I do it?**

Prompt 24: Christmas Eve

Characters: Everyone!

.o.o.o.

Klup

Captain Jack continued to regale Amy, Rory and River with tales of his conquests – not all of them strictly professional – while the Doctor did his usual dance around the console. He spotted River 'observing' every now and then but it was Christmas, and he already knew she did it anyway, so he let it go.

"You know, Doctor," she suggested as he bustled past her in an effort to keep all the readings correct, "why don't we make this a big thing? It's been ages since there have been this many people in the TARDIS, and it is Christmas after all. Besides, I'd love to meet everyone. Cross my heart I won't tell them who I am."

"River, you haven't even finished telling _me _that yet."

"I hate lace, I like horses, and no I will not leave my gun on the TARDIS. Now will you? Please?"

The Doctor smiled and flicked a switch with gusto.

"I do have some things to finish off first."

Christmas Eve 2011 he visited Donna's hospital – without going inside of course. He waited until Wilf and Sylvia came in before he slipped away.

Christmas Eve 2005 he took the turkey out of the Tylers' oven before it burnt to a crisp, and left a box of crackers on the bench.

Christmas Eve 2020 he had been about to drop a card in Mickey and Martha's front door mail slot when they had arrived home. They almost instantly recognised him and so he invited them to join the party.

Boxing Day 2011 he picked up Sarah-Jane, Luke and K9, who met a very enthusiastic welcome from the extensive crowd on the TARDIS control console.

The Doctor loudly cleared his throat and followed them up. K9 moved in front of him, eye panel flashing as he demanded space in a polite, automated C3PO tone.

"Make way for the master. Please step aside."

"Thanks buddy." The Doctor scratched the robot's head before returning his attention to the console. "And now -" he announced "- to Klup!"

He simultaneously flicked the last two switches, one up and one down, and they began to dematerialise.


	25. Not Klup

**AN ~ This is a part 2 to the last chapter, 'Klup' which, if you didn't notice, was set after chapter 9 'Ambushed' where Jack shows up and the Doctor offers him Christmas dinner on Klup.**

**I should explain: Klup is the last name of the author (or editor or whatever) of my maths book and I just couldn't help using it! XD**

**Anyway, twenty minutes to spare! (for those reeeeaaaally close to the date line who also stay up until midnight...) Anyway, I did it! Whoot! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!**

Prompt 25: Christmas Day

Characters: Everyone!

.o.o.o.

...Not Klup

"He still can't drive, can he?" Martha snorted with laughter.

"Nope," River agreed, watching with the Doctor's former assistant as he tensely awaited which dial was going to go AWOL first once they had disappeared from Bannerman Road.

Suddenly she realised this sea of people wasn't going to last with the Doctor's driving.

"Honey, the brakes!" River cried, trying to get to the console in the thick crowd.

Suddenly the TARDIS lurched, throwing her back into a crowd of people and almost sending K9 down the stairs. The Doctor laughed and grabbed a handhold on the side of the console.

"Hold on tight, everyone!" he cried.

Amy, Rory, Sarah-Jane, Jack and Luke immediately did as he suggested.

"I hate you!" River cried as she was almost flung down the stairs.

"No you don't!" the Doctor called back.

"You should install airbags in this thing!" Mickey suggested, grabbing onto the railing and trying to catch Martha before she hit it too hard.

"It's not a 'thing' – Amy, I'm busy, back me up here!"

Amy was in hysterics.

"It is a time machine, Master Smith," K9 explained, apparently unfazed by the fact that he was sliding all over the place.

"What the hell are you doing?" Martha cried as she was flung out of Mickey's grasp and across the console floor.

"She's getting excited. Never had this many people before." The Doctor explained this with one foot up on the console, trying to put extra force into pulling a lever. "I'm trying to -" he paused to groan as he heaved it in the right direction "- land her."

Almost immediately, the TARDIS stopped groaning. Around the room, his guests straightened up and attempted to fix their hair or their dresses, or just generally make sure they didn't have any bruises or broken bones, but the Doctor simply adjusted his bow tie and strode towards the door with gusto.

"And now, I give you the best hot chocolate this side of the Medusa Cascade. I give you more kinds of roast meat than you can imagine. I give you pudding that has started and ended interplanetary conflict. I give you Klup!"

With a grand flourish, the Doctor flung both doors open to reveal what looked like a junk yard; steaming piles of something, huge stacks of something else with massive bits of metal sticking out all over the place. Little creatures that looked somewhere between kangaroo and stray cat prowling the grounds.

"I give you...not-Klup," the Doctor edited. "That's rather anti-climactic."

Sarah-Jane, however, was already emerging from the wardrobe, tugging a pair of boots on and hitching up her dress. She waved her Sonic Lipstick in his face and grinned.

"Come on, everyone. Let's go!"

It hadn't been what they were expecting, but judging by the murmurs and disappearances into the wardrobe, they were happy to go with it. In a minute or two, the entire Klup-bound party was awaiting the Doctor out the front of the TARDIS.

"Okay, not-Klup it is!" The Doctor clapped his hands, grabbed his jacket, and left the time machine.


End file.
